FCCPC Exposes Coca-Cola

FCCPC Exposes Coca-Cola: The Federal Competition and Consumer

Protection Commission (FCCPC) has concluded a comprehensive

investigation into Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited and the

Nigerian Bottling Company Limited (NBC), revealing significant

breaches of transparency and consumer communication. The inquiry,

initiated in June 2019, focused on the companies’ switch from traditional

sugar to non-nutritive sweeteners in their Coke, Fanta, and Sprite brands

without adequately informing consumers.

The investigation uncovered repeated violations of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA), including misleading trade descriptions and unfair marketing tactics.

The companies marketed the “Original Taste, Less Sugar” variant as identical

to the classic Coca-Cola, despite differences in formulation. Similar undisclosed

changes were made to Fanta and Sprite.

The Evidence

By December 2020, the FCCPC had gathered substantial evidence demonstrating

these violations. The commission found that Coca-Cola and NBC had failed to

provide clear and accurate information to consumers, intentionally misleading

them about the nature of their products. Internal documents revealed awareness of the ineffectiveness of their product differentiations and continued misleading practices.

the agreements

Despite initial agreements to adopt more transparent product descriptions, the companies later abandoned this commitment, prompting the FCCPC to re-engage with them. However, their efforts remained inadequate, leading to the issuance of a Final Order detailing the findings.

The order highlighted Coca-Cola and NBC’s use of misleading trade descriptions and unfair marketing tactics, violating several sections of the FCCPA. The commission has reserved judgment on the issue of Abuse of Dominance and will impose appropriate penalties under the FCCPA and the Administrative Penalties Regulation 2020 in due course.

©The Guardian